Nauru faces uncertain economic future as asylum seekers leave and the money dries up
6 years, 6 months ago

Nauru faces uncertain economic future as asylum seekers leave and the money dries up

ABC  

Regional leaders attending the annual Pacific Islands Forum have gathered on the tiny island of Nauru, one of the few countries to have been both the richest and the poorest in the world in the last 50 years. Key points: Nauru first became the site of an Australian-funded processing centre in 2001 It draws revenue from the visa fees it charges per asylum seeker and Australian aid Nauru's economy contracted last financial year by about 3 per cent because of reduced refugee numbers An economic windfall in the form of vast phosphate deposits saw Nauruans enjoy one of the highest GDP figures per capita of any country when the nation gained independence in the 1960s. Last year, Senate committee figures showed Australia's offshore processing facilities on Manus and Nauru had cost the government almost $5 billion since 2012. Nauru's economy contracted last financial year by about 3 per cent, and it's not expecting any growth this year either, citing "uncertainty" about the number of refugees and the operation of the RPC. Nauru has some phosphate left — called "secondary deposits" — but the Government said in its recent budget that the economic viability of a proposed operation to mine it "has yet to be proven".

Refugees Economic Asylum Pacific Million Centre Processing Island Murphy David Australian Phosphate Nauru Rpc Visa Fees Mr Murphy Dr Firth  faces  island  centre  asylum  refugees  pacific  nauru  leave  economic  million  uncertain  processing  phosphate  money  seekers  future  dries  australian

History of this topic

Legal challenge launched to Australia's paid deportation to Nauru
1 month, 1 week ago

Legal challenge launched to Australia's paid deportation to Nauru

ABC  

Efforts to deport a man from Australia to Nauru will be challenged in the High Court, a legal not-for-profit has confirmed. The man is one of three currently in immigration detention awaiting transfer to the small Pacific nation, which Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke revealed on Sunday had been paid to take them. Nauru to take members of NZYQ cohort …

Rights groups slam Australian plan to transfer criminals to Nauru
1 month, 1 week ago

Rights groups slam Australian plan to transfer criminals to Nauru

Raw Story  

by Laura CHUNG Rights groups on Monday denounced an Australian plan to send three violent foreign criminals -- including a murderer -- to live on the tiny Pacific nation of Nauru. Canberra said Sunday it had paid an undisclosed sum to Nauru -- population about 13,000 -- in return for it issuing 30-year visas to the trio, who lost their …

Australia plans to deport 3 violent criminals to Nauru
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Australia plans to deport 3 violent criminals to Nauru

Associated Press  

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia will soon deport three violent criminals including a convicted murderer to Nauru even though they are not citizens of the tiny Pacific atoll, after an Australian court ruled that dangerous immigrants can no longer be imprisoned indefinitely. Opposition leader Peter Dutton said on Monday that more than 200 immigrants with criminal records who could not be …

Nauru to take non-citizen NZYQ cohort freed from immigration detention
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Nauru to take non-citizen NZYQ cohort freed from immigration detention

ABC  

Nauru will offer visas to members of the NZYQ cohort of non-citizens released into the Australian community following a High Court decision, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has revealed. Burke suggests Nauru was paid, flags court challenge Mr Burke visited Nauru earlier this year and suggested Australia had offered the Pacific nation something as part of an "arrangement", but declined …

A teenager is among the first boat arrivals sent to Nauru in nine years
1 year, 5 months ago

A teenager is among the first boat arrivals sent to Nauru in nine years

ABC  

A 17-year-old boy is among a group detained inside the regional processing centre on the remote pacific island of Nauru. "Therefore, those personnel have been transferred to Nauru for regional processing by the government of Nauru, in accordance with longstanding Operation Sovereign Borders policies," he said. In recent years, the Nauru Processing Centre has been wound back, as refugees and …

End Days for Australia’s Nauru Detention Center?
1 year, 8 months ago

End Days for Australia’s Nauru Detention Center?

The Diplomat  

The Australian government was expected to begin the process of removing all remaining asylum seekers from the island of Nauru by the end of June, more than a decade after the offshore processing on the tiny Pacific Island was restarted. As Human Rights Watch noted, “few other countries go to such lengths to deliberately inflict suffering on people seeking safety …

Australia ends migrants housing deal with Papua New Guinea
3 years, 5 months ago

Australia ends migrants housing deal with Papua New Guinea

Associated Press  

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia is ending a deal with Papua New Guinea to house asylum-seekers, leaving scores who have spent years on the South Pacific island nation the options of resettling in the United States or the tiny atoll of Nauru. Australia has been paying Papua New Guinea and Nauru since 2013 to house thousands of asylum-seekers who attempt to …

What now for asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island in need of medical evacuation?
6 years, 1 month ago

What now for asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island in need of medical evacuation?

ABC  

Asylum seekers diagnosed by doctors as needing medical attention in Australia haven't yet been placed on planes. Key points: The lower house of Parliament approved a law expanding medical access for asylum seekers The Government did not support the law, triggering a historic defeat The amended bill still needs to pass the Senate then come into law for new medical …

Shock statistic that proves Australia wants children and their families OFF Nauru
6 years, 5 months ago

Shock statistic that proves Australia wants children and their families OFF Nauru

Daily Mail  

Australians want the government to accept an offer from New Zealand to resettle refugees in detention on Nauru, according to a new poll. The YouGov Galaxy poll commissioned by The Sunday Telegraph reveals 79 per cent of people want children and their families transferred off the island. Support for the NZ deal was strongest among millennials, according to the poll …

Asylum seeker doctor removed from island as Nauruan Government blocks medical evacuation
6 years, 6 months ago

Asylum seeker doctor removed from island as Nauruan Government blocks medical evacuation

ABC  

The ABC understands the most senior medical officer working with asylum seekers on Nauru has been removed from the island amid an ongoing stoush over the transfer of patients off the island. Key points: The Queensland doctor was employed by an Australian Government contractor as a locum on Nauru On Wednesday, the Australian Federal Court heard the Nauruan Government had …

Refugee crisis rears its head at Commonwealth Games on Gold Coast
6 years, 11 months ago

Refugee crisis rears its head at Commonwealth Games on Gold Coast

Daily Mail  

The refugee crisis has reared its ugly head at the Commonwealth Games after an unfortunate coincidence saw the Nauru team enter the opening ceremony to the tune of Beds Are Burning. Australians watching the opening ceremony from home on Wednesday night took to social media to highlight the 'awkward moment' Nauru entered the stadium to the ill-fitting Midnight Oil song. …

Australia to pay $53m to Manus Island asylum seekers
7 years, 9 months ago

Australia to pay $53m to Manus Island asylum seekers

Al Jazeera  

Government says settlement with 1,905 Manus detainees, who sued over ‘hostile conditions’, is ‘not admission of guilt’. The Australian government has agreed to pay 70 million Australian dollars to more than 1,900 asylum seekers who sued over their treatment at the Manus Island detention centre on Papua New Guinea. “The people detained on Manus Island have endured extremely hostile conditions …

Australia poised to announce refugee resettlement deal with United States
8 years, 4 months ago

Australia poised to announce refugee resettlement deal with United States

ABC  

Australia is on the brink of signing a breakthrough deal with the United States on asylum seekers after months of protracted negotiations. Key points: Under the deal the US will resettle detainees on Manus Island and Nauru found to be refugees 'Plenty of time' for deal to be struck before hardline Trump takes office, Pyne says Labor welcomes prospect of …

Nauru detention centre concerns downplayed by Department of Immigration
8 years, 5 months ago

Nauru detention centre concerns downplayed by Department of Immigration

ABC  

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection has downplayed allegations of abuse within the regional processing centre on Nauru. Key points: More than 2,000 files of alleged abuse, self harm published by media Department says most cases were "minor" or "trivial" It says action was taken in serious and critical cases In August, Guardian Australia published thousands of leaked files …

Nauru: Australia’s Guantanamo Bay?
8 years, 6 months ago

Nauru: Australia’s Guantanamo Bay?

Al Jazeera  

In 2013, Australia’s government announced a tough new policy towards refugees travelling by boat to its shores. There, in Nauru and on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island, they are still held in what Australia’s government calls “regional processing centres”. Nauru’s “detention centre” first opened in 2001, under a policy brought in by Australia’s conservative Liberal Party – the so-called “Pacific …

Nauru’s detention centre: ‘Many of us think of suicide’
8 years, 10 months ago

Nauru’s detention centre: ‘Many of us think of suicide’

Al Jazeera  

As the number of refugee suicides rise, we examine the detention centre at the heart of Australia’s asylum policies. The history of detention centres on Nauru is brief, but the island has been central to Australia’s asylum policies. It first housed a detention centre for asylum seekers between 2001 and 2008, under the so-called Pacific Solution of Australia’s conservative Liberal …

Powerful Nauru families benefiting from Australian-funded refugee processing centre
9 years ago

Powerful Nauru families benefiting from Australian-funded refugee processing centre

ABC  

Some of Nauru's most powerful families are benefiting financially from the island's multi-million-dollar Australian-funded refugee processing centres. Key points: Documents show relatives of Nauruan politicians secured contracts, high-level jobs at processing centre Also show family members have interests in land where centre located Centre landowners to benefit from $10.5m redevelopment of site, paid by Australian Government Buildings to become landowners' …

Stopping offshore detention, imposing time limits could save billions of dollars, data shows
9 years ago

Stopping offshore detention, imposing time limits could save billions of dollars, data shows

ABC  

The Government could save almost $3 billion over forward estimates by closing down offshore immigration detention and imposing a time limit for onshore detainees, Parliamentary Budget Office modelling shows. Key points: PBO data shows Government could save $2.47b if it shut down offshore detention Imposing a 30-day time limit for onshore detention could save additional $448m Greens say time limit …

A tragic day for both asylum seekers and the law
9 years, 1 month ago

A tragic day for both asylum seekers and the law

ABC  

What Australia designed on Nauru is a sophisticated work-around: a way to wash its hands of responsibility for these asylum seekers. But it boils down to this: who is detaining the asylum seekers on Nauru; and, to the extent that Australia is involved in that, is it legal? I think these actions are worth reciting: designating Nauru as a "regional …

Immigration detention times on Nauru and Manus Island blow out to 450-day average under Liberals
9 years, 2 months ago

Immigration detention times on Nauru and Manus Island blow out to 450-day average under Liberals

ABC  

The time asylum seekers spend in Australian immigration detention has hit a record high at an average of almost 450 days. Key points: Average time spent in detention blows out to nearly 450 days More than 3,200 people remain in detention centres Opposition, Greens describes figures as 'unacceptable' The period of detention for asylum seekers in both onshore and offshore …

Cost of offshore detention centres on Nauru, Manus Island blows out by $100 million: Immigration Department annual report
9 years, 4 months ago

Cost of offshore detention centres on Nauru, Manus Island blows out by $100 million: Immigration Department annual report

ABC  

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection has suffered a $100-million blowout in the cost of detaining asylum seekers offshore. Detention on Nauru and Manus Island cost taxpayers more than $1 billion in the 2014-15 financial year, the sixth year running that spending has gone over budget. Funding allocated for the period was lower than the previous year, according to …

Nauru asylum seeker announcement not related to High Court challenge, Peter Dutton says
9 years, 5 months ago

Nauru asylum seeker announcement not related to High Court challenge, Peter Dutton says

ABC  

The announcement that Nauru will process all remaining asylum seekers "within the next week" has nothing to do with an upcoming court case, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says. Nauru's government has also moved to make the detention centre an "open" facility, meaning the 600 remaining asylum seekers there can come and go at any time. Mr Dutton told Lateline the …

Activist group leads rally, says Nauru, Manus Island detention centres must be closed
9 years, 11 months ago

Activist group leads rally, says Nauru, Manus Island detention centres must be closed

ABC  

The Refugee Action Collective has led a rally outside Immigration Minister Peter Dutton's office in Brisbane's north, saying the Federal Government must close detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island to prevent more human suffering. Mr Gillespie said people had a legal right to cross borders and claim asylum, and the detention centres must be closed. "That right was not …

More refugee claims processed for asylum seekers on Nauru
10 years, 10 months ago

More refugee claims processed for asylum seekers on Nauru

ABC  

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says a further 21 asylum seekers on Nauru have had their refugee claims processed, with about half being granted protection. Today's announcement means almost 70 people have now been processed across both detention centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea's Manus Island. Mr Morrison also says 250 people have voluntarily returned to their home countries and …

First group of asylum seekers granted refugee status on Nauru
10 years, 10 months ago

First group of asylum seekers granted refugee status on Nauru

ABC  

The first asylum seekers to be granted refugee visas on Nauru have been released into the community. Thirteen asylum seekers have been given refugee protection, including an Iranian family and four single men. The first refugee determinations come nearly two years after the former Labor government began sending asylum seekers who arrived by boat to the tiny Pacific island nation. …

Niue rejects plan to house Australian asylum seekers
11 years, 2 months ago

Niue rejects plan to house Australian asylum seekers

ABC  

A proposal by Niue premier Toke Talagi for his small Pacific nation to house asylum seekers for Australia has been rejected by the Niuean parliament. Mr Talagi raised the prospect last month that Niue should also be considered as a location for housing asylum seekers under Australia's offshore processing policy. Niue Star editor Michael Jackson said MPs opposed to housing …

Nauru media visa fee hike to 'cover up harsh conditions at Australian tax-payer funded detention centre'
11 years, 2 months ago

Nauru media visa fee hike to 'cover up harsh conditions at Australian tax-payer funded detention centre'

ABC  

A huge hike in journalists' visa fees for Nauru is designed to cover up how Australian taxpayers' money is being spent on the "cruel" detention centre there, the Greens say. A spokeswoman for Nauru's government has told the ABC the cost of a single-entry media visa is due to rise from $200 to $8,000. "This is of course part of …

Nauru agrees to settle refugees for Australia
11 years, 7 months ago

Nauru agrees to settle refugees for Australia

Associated Press  

CANBERRA, Australia — The tiny country of Nauru on Saturday became the second Pacific island nation to agree to settle refugees who attempt to reach Australia by boat, in a deal aimed at deterring asylum seekers that was quickly attacked by critics. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd hopes to deter an escalating number of asylum seekers who travel to Australia in …

Asylum seekers continue protests on Nauru
12 years, 5 months ago

Asylum seekers continue protests on Nauru

ABC  

Asylum seekers say they have staged another protest at the Nauru detention centre, criticising living conditions and accusing authorities of treating them like criminals. Nearly 400 asylum seekers have been sent to Nauru since the offshore processing centre was re-opened last month by the Government. One detainee at the centre told the ABC asylum seekers are living in cramped conditions …

Nauru hikes asylum seeker visa costs
12 years, 5 months ago

Nauru hikes asylum seeker visa costs

ABC  

Nauru has indicated it is unwilling to budge on a $1,000 per month charge on visas for asylum seekers sent there by the Australian Government, undermining claims the fee is still up for negotiation. ABC News Online revealed this morning that Nauru had established a new visa category, called an "Australian regional processing visa", with a cost of $3,000 for …

Asylum seekers to be processed under Nauruan law
12 years, 6 months ago

Asylum seekers to be processed under Nauruan law

ABC  

The government of Nauru has confirmed asylum seekers transferred from Australia will be processed under Nauruan law. The first plane load of asylum seekers to be transferred under the Federal Government's new policy arrived on the island on Friday morning. Thirty Sri Lankan asylum seekers were on the plane that landed in Nauru on Friday morning. But the Human Rights …

Nauru wants guarantees on asylum seekers' treatment
12 years, 6 months ago

Nauru wants guarantees on asylum seekers' treatment

ABC  

The government of Nauru wants Australia to give assurances that force will not be used on asylum seekers who are reluctant to be detained on the Pacific island. The first group of asylum seekers is expected to arrive from Christmas Island by the end of the week, although Nauru has flagged possible delays. Given the strong resistance, Nauru's foreign minister …

Nauru Foreign Minister reacts to asylum seeker arrivals
12 years, 6 months ago

Nauru Foreign Minister reacts to asylum seeker arrivals

ABC  

LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: Later this week, Australia will transfer its first lot of asylum seekers to Nauru - the first lot under Labor, that is. To try to get to the bottom of what's going on earlier I spoke to Nauru's Foreign Minister Kieren Keke. KIEREN KEKE, NAURU FOREIGN MINISTER: The discussions to date have given us information that in …

Nauru pledges support for asylum seeker needs
12 years, 6 months ago

Nauru pledges support for asylum seeker needs

ABC  

The government of Nauru says its priority is to ensure that asylum seekers transferred to its offshore detention centre have all their needs met. "I think everybody's also conscious that we want to make sure that the systems are in place, that we are able to care for the asylum seekers and provide the services that they need." Mr Keke …

Bowen signs Nauru processing agreement
12 years, 6 months ago

Bowen signs Nauru processing agreement

ABC  

The Opposition claims asylum seekers sent to Nauru can expect to wait up to five years to be resettled under Federal Government plans. He has told Parliament that the Government's promise that, from now on, anyone arriving in Australia by boat will get "no advantage" over other asylum seekers means those sent to Nauru can expect a long wait. Almost …

Nauru asylum seekers' 'tent city' almost ready
12 years, 6 months ago

Nauru asylum seekers' 'tent city' almost ready

ABC  

A temporary 'tent city' has been erected on the Pacific Island of Nauru in anticipation of the arrival of the first asylum seekers from Australia. "In the coming weeks we should be able to move the first detainees who have been intercepted and processed on Christmas Island to Nauru", the Immigration Department's spokesman Sandi Logan told Australia Network. That could …

Nauru bows to US and shuts down its banks
21 years, 11 months ago

Nauru bows to US and shuts down its banks

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Pacific offshore haven of …

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